


How Tony Stark met Steve Rogers

by collegecoffeebooks



Series: How the Avengers fell in love and became a family [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (2012)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-02-16
Updated: 2013-08-21
Packaged: 2017-11-29 12:37:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/687037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/collegecoffeebooks/pseuds/collegecoffeebooks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony has been having dreams, these mad dreams that leave him questioning his sanity. And then Tony finds out that he's been keeping secrets from himself. This is going to cause trouble.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Tony's dreams

The dreams started off simple, though haunting. Tony never expected what would happen in the future.

June 1st, 2002 10:30 pm.  
He's sitting in his workshop, drawing up plans for a new car. One that runs on air and then recycles the air. The only sounds are the light scratching of pencil on paper and the occasional sound of him muttering under his breath.  
"Tony." his head jerks up  
"Who's there?"  
"Tony." it's a male voice, soft and needy. "Tony, please?" the voice is begging him.  
"Where are you?" he asks, curiosity replacing his panic.  
"Tony." a whisper, breathy and shaking with need, and Tony shivers; because nobody talks to him like that. Nobody.  
"Tony." a sigh, a breath of relief. "I l..."

And Tony wakes up, heartbeat racing, arc reactor whirring and covered in sweat. That voice still echoing through his mind. The unfinished sentence circling through his head. Nobody told him that unless they wanted something. Pepper and Rhodey were the exception. So who was he dreaming about?  
He doesn't go back to sleep that night, choosing instead to go work in the workshop.

June 3rd, 2002 10:30 am.  
He hasn't slept in 36 hours so when he forgets his coffee one hour and falls asleep it's not a surprise. But he didn't really expect the owner of the voice to be there.

He's not in his workshop this time, he's flying above the city. It's a perfect night and this high up he can see the stars normally hidden by the city lights.  
He's thinking about how he should do this more often when he spots a rather large object falling toward the ground. It's a habit when he flies toward it but as soon as he gets close enough to make out a man's body an overwhelming panic grips his heart.  
He flies as fast as possible, trying with everything in him to reach the guy. But he never seems to get any closer and the only thing about the guy that he can really make out is this bright blonde hair. Which isn't really enough to identify anyone by. So why is in such a panic? Why does the thought of this guy hitting the water beneath them cause pain to grip his heart in a vice?  
He increases his speed as much as possible but it's not enough, the guy hits the ocean before Tony can clearly see the waves.

The raw blinding pain wakes him up. Pain like he's never felt before. And all he can do is curl up on the couch and wait for it to abate. But the feeling that he's lost someone important never fades, even as he reflects that he doesn't know any guys with blonde hair. He can't even think of someone with hair as blonde as the guy in his dream. Hair so bright it shown even in the darkness. He thinks he would remember meeting someone like that.

June 9th, 2002 7:00 pm.  
He doesn't sleep for six days and when he does it's not by choice; it's because Pepper slips a sleeping pill in his coffee.

This time he's in a little room, a cell. This time he's aware he's dreaming. This time he's dreaming of being kidnapped. But not a past kidnapping, he's never seen this room before. This time he's expecting the mystery guy to show up. This time he's prepared.  
So when the alarms go off and people start screaming in the distance he's prepared. When the irrational feeling that everything will be okay starts to grip his heart, he's prepared. What he's not prepared for is the guy who runs by his cell cursing 'that captain', leaving Tony standing there gob smacked. This is his dream. How does he not know what that guy in his dream obviously knows. That makes no sense.  
But he loses that train of thought as a door blows up and a piece of flying debris hits him. There's a silhouette standing in the door but Tony's blacking out - waking up - before he can make out more than blue and white and bright blond hair. Such bright blonde hair. Like sunlight in corporeal form.

After he wakes up he resolves to never drink anything Pepper gives him again.   
He tries to forget about the word Captain.

June 10th, 2002 11:30 pm.  
He wouldn't have gone to sleep, but this time there wasn't really another option. He was heading to the kitchen for more coffee when he tripped over something. Tripped, fell and hit his head on the corner of a table. Night night, Tony.

He's not really sure where he is. It's a bedroom and it looks like something he would design but he swears he's never seen this room before. He take a deep breath and get a faint whiff of honey and spicy cologne. The scent makes his blood burn and before he can stop himself he's burying his face in the pillow and inhaling. He feels like he's on fire.  
He doesn't move from the bed, just lays there waiting for the mysterious stranger to appear. But he never does. So he lays there and inhales the scent that makes him feel more alive than ever and eventually starts to drift asleep - wake up. But right as he on the verge of waking up yet still caught in the dream world he feels a hand brush his hair back from his forehead.

That feeling stays with him all day. The feeling of skin against skin and one of the most peaceful sleeps he's ever had. Considering he now has a knot on his head that hurts like a mother, that's pretty fuckin ironic.

June 13th, 2002 9:08 pm.  
Tony was warring between wanting to go to sleep and trying to investigate the mysterious stranger or just ignoring everything. But the memory of that last dream would not leave him alone. The memory of that hand against his forehand. People just weren't that gentle with him. Fuck, even Pepper rarely touched him.  
He sighs, looking at his work and then at the couch.  
"Fuck it." he mutters, before going back to work.

June 15th, 2002 10:36 pm.  
It's been four days since he's slept. Pepper tried to come see him today but he decided it was better to go out and fly around the city for a while. When he got back she was gone, as usual. Hopefully she wouldn't come back for a few days. The lack of sleep though is making him slightly delusional, sometimes he'll look up and he swears he'll see a blonde head disappearing around the corner. It's worse when he starts hearing that voice calling his name though.  
First he has to bash his head on the table to convince himself he's awake and then explore every corner of the house before he's satisfied that he's really alone. Even Jarvis's reassurances that he's alone does nothing to calm him down. He has to see it for himself.  
He wonders if he can invent something to make the delusions go away or something to keep him awake or something to keep him conscious of the fact that he's asleep and maybe then he could find out who this person is. This person with rough skin and a gentle touch. This person with a voice like a waterfall during a storm. This person with a voice that rises and falls like the waves.  
This person who is turning his brain into a disoriented, poetic mess. Yeah, that one. Fuck. He thinks back over everything he just thought. Fuck. Did he really think all that. Waterfalls? Shit. He definitely needs another cup of coffee.

June 17th, 2002 4:00 am.  
It is four in the morning and Tony is already on his seventh cup of coffee. He's sure there is something really bad about that. Something very unhealthy or something like that. Pepper could probably tell him. Jarvis has probably already told him. He doesn't remember though.  
Pepper will probably show up sometime today to pester him as well. Pepper pestering. Pestering Pepper. Get it?  
A hysterical giggle slips out. He is definitely sleep deprived. He raises his cup to his lips again but stops short. Fuck. His coffee is gone. Again.  
"Sir? If you do not get some sleep within the next twelve hours I will be obligated to report you to Ms. Potts." Jarvis's voice fills the room and Tony rolls his eyes in derision.  
"Fuck off, Jarvis. You're my bloody AI, you're not allowed to report me."  
"Actually, sir, I am allowed..."  
"Stuff it Jarvis. I don't need any sass from you." He snaps before Jarvis can finish his probably correct sentence. And what the fuck is he talking about, of course Jarvis is correct. Tony built the bloody AI and anything Tony builds is going to work properly. Eventually.  
Dummy chooses that moment to back into a punching bag, freak out and open a fire extinguisher on half the workshop. Tony sighs, head banging down on the desk. When had his life turned this pathetic? Dummy nudges his arm, trilling at him.  
"Shut up. You're a disgrace. I'm going to disassemble you one day." Tony mutters without raising his head. "Bloody AI's."

June 17th, 2002 1:00 pm.  
He hasn't slept for 163 hours, 24 minutes, 47 seconds and counting. He's gone through 5 cans of coffee, more energy drinks than he can keep track of and he's pretty sure he's been living off of toast. He can tell it's only a matter of time before he gives into sleep. He feels like if he even blinks he's going to fall asleep and be back in those dreams. those heady, unimaginably scary dreams. Those dreams that leave him breathless, terrified and yearning for more.

Those dreams that make him lose control.

And if there is one thing Tony Stark hates above all else, it's losing control. If he could just figure out who this mystery guy is then it would be easier, not better, but easier. Then he would know where to start, he could figure out why he keeps dreaming of this guy. But all he has is the word 'Captain' and when you type that in the search engine you get 437,000,000 results. Even Tony can't narrow that down. Jarvis tried, but with the limited information -bright blonde hair, male, Captain- even his AI couldn't find anything. Which is probably a first actually. Props to the mystery guy, he's baffled the smartest computer in the world.  
"Sir, I should inform you that Ms. Potts just entered the building." Tony jerks as his AI's voice fills the room.  
Dammit. He rubs a hand over his face before sighing in defeat. Sleep it is. Maybe he'll find out something useful this time around. Better yet, maybe the dreams will go away.  
He scoffs, nearly tripping up the stairs from his workshop, like that's going to happen.  
"Anthony Edward Stark!" Pepper's high-pitched exclamation causes him to cringe away from the noise. Then he looks up and sees the worry shining in her eyes and he shrinks a little inside. Well then, doesn't he just feel like a grade-A asshole now.  
"It's fine, Pepper." he says, walking past her, "I'm going to bed now."  
"How long has it been since you slept?" she asks, following after him. That in itself is a statement on how bad he looks. Pepper usually ignores the specifics of his sleeping schedule, preferring to not know. So, he just grunts and shrugs noncommittally.  
"Oh, Tony." she sighs softly, before turning and walking the other way, trusting that he's actually going to bed.  
"Hey, Pepper?" he calls before entering his room.  
"Yes, Mr. Stark?" crisp and neat, back to the formality's that she's more comfortable with. Back to pretending to be happily oblivious to how fucked up he is.  
"I really need my coffee restocked."  
"Of course, Mr. Stark." and then she's gone and he's falling into his bed, sleep claiming him within seconds. He can feel the dreams pulling him in before he's even properly asleep and there is definitely something unnatural about this and then he's gone. Gone into the dreams, gone to meet his mystery man.  
~.~.~.~  
As soon as he becomes aware of his surroundings he can feel a difference in the dream. A charge that wasn’t present in the other dreams. He’s not sure what the difference is, but he’ll figure it out. But he wants to figure out where he is first.   
It doesn’t look like anywhere he’s been before. It’s a shop, an antique shop. There are various knick knacks and trinkets scattered everywhere, nothing of importance. It’s really dark and a glance at the window behind confirms that it’s night. He turns and looks around the shop again, he swears he’s never seen this place before. He takes a cautious step forward and then flinches back as something shatters near the back of the shop. He hates this feeling of vulnerability. Hates it. He has the iron man suit, he’s not supposed to be vulnerable anymore. Why can’t he ever dream in his suit? It would make his life -dream life- so much simpler.   
The sound of more glass shattering has him edging toward toward the back of the shop. He can feel his heart pounding and the arc reactor is whirring louder than ever. He can feel the certainty that he’s finally going to unveil his mysterious man, the certainty is blazing in his veins.   
He edges closer, peeking around the corner and feels his breath stop - from a hundred miles a minute to stuttering.   
There’s this guy, sitting with his back to Tony. And he’s sitting cross legged, head bent over whatever he’s working on. It looks like he’s drawing from what Tony can see. He still doesn’t understand where the shattering noises came from. Then suddenly the guy in front of him growls, there’s really no other way to put it, and throws a nearby figurine at the stone wall. The glass falls to the floor and joins the pile of previously shattered figurines. What the fuck? Tony inches forward, trying to get a better view. What is with this guy?  
But then this guy straightens and Tony, who had finally started breathing normally again, feels his breath hitch and his mouth opens in shock. 

Oh. Shit. 

There’s a small window to the right and the moonbeams are falling through and causing this guy to glow. This guy is sitting in a puddle of moonbeams and glowing. Jeez, Tony can’t wait to find out who this is. Because think about, if this is what he looks like in a dream, Tony can just imagine how striking he’ll be in real life. Then the guy turns around.   
Then the guy turns around. Then he meets Tony’s eyes. Then Tony knows what it’s like to have your heart ripped out. Then Tony understands. Then Tony falls. He falls and falls; all the while taking in the cheekbones and the ocean colored eyes and the perfect lips and the freckles spattered across his nose and every other little fucking detail. Because this is impossible. This is completely absurd. This Is his worst nightmare and his wildest dream. This is insanity. Because this guy doesn’t exist in real life and most definitely shouldn’t exist in Tony’s dreams. And then he opens his mouth and Tony winces, bracing himself for those damning words to fall from his mouth, but what comes out is something completely different.   
“You came back.” and Tony falls for real this time, the floor is hard beneath his hands, too hard, too real. This is a dream. This is too vivid. Too real, too vivid. He shouldn’t exist. That man. The hero and torturer of his childhood.   
Captain fucking America.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that this took so long, but I got to the end point of this chapter and I really wanted to make it longer but I just can not figure out where to go from here. Like i'm trying to figure out how to continue the story without breaking them out of character. I'll try to get another chapter up as soon as I can.

June 17th, 2002 con...  
Captain America. Steve Rogers. America’s golden boy. The national icon. Howard Stark’s dream. His role-model. The person he most wanted to be like and always failed to live up too. Much to his father’s disappointment.   
Tony’s so far out of it he nearly cracks his head open on the floor again when Captain America’s face appears in front of his.   
“Are you okay?” and Tony stares. Because that’s what Tony does best. He stares and thinks and tries to figure out what the fuck is going on. And then he reverts to sarcasm and ‘fuck-what-others-think’ mode, because Tony’s good at that.   
“Yeah, Captain, I’m fine. Absolutely fine. You know what’s not fine? How close you are to me. Ever heard of personal bubbles? Oh jeez, you probably haven’t. Did they even have that phrase in the 40’s? Scratch that, did they even have the concept of personal space in the 40’s? Of course they did, what am I saying. It was the 40’s. The time and prudes and no sex and....”  
“Tony.” and he stops talking and finally moves his eyes from the spot above the Captain’s head to his eyes. But he doesn’t understand what he’s seeing. The amused but fond expression on the Captains face doesn’t make any sense.   
And then it clicks and a choked laugh falls past Tony’s lips. He’s finally passed the line of completely fucked up. He’s gone and dreamed up his childhood hero and turned him into this perfect guy. Wow. Could he be more of a complete screw up?   
“Tony?” and Tony just laughs and laughs and lets the Captains voice wash over him. Because this is just too much. He’s finally gotten so lonely that his brain felt the need to make him someone who would accept him. Because nobody in real life will. Tolerate him, sure. Accept him, hell no. And Tony laughs and cries and wishes he would go ahead and wake up so he can invent a machine that will make sleep unnecessary. Because this is too much. Even for him.   
“Tony?” and that’s the final straw. That soft, understanding voice.   
“What?!” he shrieks, “What the fuck do you want?” and he’s screaming, shrieking; not even hearing what he’s saying. And the Captain’s mouth is moving but the blood is roaring in his ear and he can’t hear anything.   
“You forgot me again didn’t you?” those words penetrate his panic induced fog. Stop his brain mid-panic. He pauses, opens his mouth, closes it, thinks that through and opens his mouth again. “Again?” he chokes out finally. “What do you mean, ‘again’?”  
“Tony, have you ever met me before?” Tony shoots him an incredulous look.   
“Wow. Dream Captain is stupid. Of course I haven’t met you. You’re dead.”   
“That never gets easier to hear.” he mutters, staring pensively at Tony.   
“Look, Captain America...”  
“Steve.”  
“Excuse me?”  
“My name is Steve.” that throws him for a second. Steve. Steve. Right.   
“Right, Steve, whatever,” and if his voice cracks, if he stumbles over the name, well neither of them are going to mention it, “I don’t know what you mean, again, this is a dream. You are dead, a figment of my fucked up mind and I’ve never met you before.”   
Cap...Steve, stares for a few minutes before laughing lightly.   
“That was nearly verbatim of what you said last time.” and now Tony’s getting pissed. Because there was no last time. This is a dream. Tony doesn’t live in some fucked up fairy tale. Tony quit chasing rainbows and unicorns before he could read. And Tony knew how to read before he was potty trained.   
“Shut up.” he snaps, vicious suddenly. “Shut the hell up.”  
“Oh, get over yourself, Tony.” Steve snaps back and the pure shock, of hearing such a tone come from this person, shuts Tony up. “Now listen to me, Tony. You said you were going to write yourself a letter and leave it with Pepper. The only way she’ll even acknowledge the fact that such a letter exists is if you say the words ‘Peggy and Howard fonduing’.” Tony raises an eyebrow at that but Steve plows on, despite the blush spreading over his cheeks, “You said you had written something that would convince you all this is real. So there.”  
Tony stares at him.   
He has finally lost it. Completely and utterly lost it. Pepper will be so proud.   
“I hope the asylum they put me in is nice.” he mutters. Steve makes a strangled noise, somewhere between a laugh and a sigh.   
“I think it’s time for you to wake up, Tony.” and Tony nods enthusiastically and is still nodding when he wakes up. 

Well that’s interesting. Dream Steve controls him waking up. Now the big question is, should he test his sanity and tell Pepper the password.   
hm...  
No. He’ll wait a few days. He doesn’t quite feel like going to the asylum yet. 

June 20th, 2002 1:00 pm.  
It's been three days since he met dream Steve, three days since he slept, and three days since he started avoiding Pepper.   
Because if he sees Pepper he won't be able to resist testing what dream Steve said. Because Tony would love to find out that he's not insane, that dream Steve is real -or something like that- and that Tony's just got something wrong with his memory. Okay...the last one would be more worrisome than comforting but still. He wouldn't be crazy. That's a plus.   
And, he knows he's going to have to talk to Pepper eventually because he's sure she'll notice he's avoiding her; if she hasn't already. He's already blocked three of her calls, locked her out of the house twice, and snuck out of a meeting they were both in. So if she hasn't noticed, she will. And then she will hunt him down and fight her way into the house. Which will not end well for him. It never goes well for him.   
Coffee. He needs coffee. Badly.   
He grabs a cup and takes a large gulp, nearly puking.   
"Dammit Dummy!" He yells, "That was not coffee! I do not like motor oil. How many times do I have to tell you that? You're going to kill me one day!" Dummy lets out a series of sad trills; vaguely resembling a kicked puppy. Tony sighs, anger already melting.   
"Yes, I know. You were just trying to help. Just..." He sighs, "just don't do it again. Okay?" Dummy beeps happily before zipping off to mess with something. Tony sighs again before heading upstairs to hunt down some real coffee.   
He hesitates when he gets near the kitchen, his instincts telling him to run the opposite direction. But he shakes it off and keeps going. It's his kitchen. Jarvis would have told him if there was something threatening in it.   
Of course -he thinks as he walks in- Jarvis wouldn't consider Pepper a threat.   
"Fucking hell, Jarvis! I'm going to reprogram your traitorous ass one day!"   
"Very good, sir. Should I make an appointment for it?"  
"Yes! Right now actually!" He turns, about to flee back to his workshop, when Pepper's voice quietly cuts through the room.   
"Walk out that door and I will freeze your bank accounts and burn all your coffee."  
He freezes. The thought of no coffee sending sparks of panic to his brain.   
He can see his gravestone now.   
Tony Stark. Greatest genius of the millennium. Brought to his knees by a lack of coffee. He will not be missed.   
"Now, would you like to tell me why you've been ignoring me?" He doesn't say anything. Maybe if he ignores her long enough she'll go away. Of course, he should have known that wouldn't work. Pepper has the patience of a saint.Which is usually a good thing for him, today, not so much.   
“It always starts like this.” Pepper’s muttered comment catches him by surprise and causes him to whirl around.   
“What?” the question snaps out, his voice hard. Pepper knows something.   
“Nothing, Tony. Absolutely. Nothing.” she says.  
“Don’t fucking lie to me! You do know something! Is it about Steve?”  
“Steve who?” and he doesn’t trust that innocent tone. She knows something and he can feel the words crawling up his throat and he wants to say it so badly.   
“You know who.” he growls out, his tone slightly darker. The combined stress, lack of sleep, and worry ‘causing him to get closer and closer to the point of snapping. A flicker of surprise passes over her face.   
“That’s new.” and the comment’s so quiet he almost doesn’t catch it. When he does, he feels all the blood drain from his face.  
“Have we had this conversation before?” the question comes out as a whisper. And Pepper doesn’t say anything; just averts her eyes.   
“Pepper. Please.” his voice cracks slightly, “Have we had this conversation before?” at first it doesn’t seem like she’s going to say anything, but then she starts talking and he almost wishes she hadn’t.   
“You gave me a letter two weeks after you escaped with the first iron man suit. Three weeks later you told me the password. You’ve said it to me seven more times since then. This is the first time the conversation has varied at all.” Tony doesn’t say anything. Can’t say anything. What does someone say to something like that?  
“Tony? Tony? Are you okay?” he can hear Pepper but it sounds like she’s in a tunnel. Like she’s getting farther and farther away. There’s a weird sensation, like he’s floating and suddenly he’s staring at the ceiling.   
Eight times.  
“I’ve forgotten him eight times.” how did Tony ever forget someone as amazing as Steve? He lets out a tired sigh before letting go. He wants to - he needs to - talk to Steve again.


End file.
